Like magic, out goes the fans choice poll results and in comes the Q&A. It's Hasbro's answers to SSG questions for August 17th, 2007. Thanks again to Hasbro for the answers, to all the folks who sent in questions and especially those who voted on them.

Hasbro Q&A for the week of August 17th

Q: We appreciate the extra attention that Jabba's Palace has been getting recently, however there is a group of characters from Jabba's henchmen who have been seriously underrepresented in action figure form: the Skiff Guards. They are featured in one of the primary action sequences in ROTJ, but we haven't seen a new sculpt of any of these guys in over 8 years, and a majority of them have never been made in action figure form. Out of the 5 skiff guards on the "prisoner skiff" (the one bringing Luke, Han, & Chewie to their doom), we've only seen one made into a figure - Weequay - and even that figure is over ten years old. Any chance that we'll get figures of the other four and maybe an update of Weequay at some point in the near future?
A: Yes, over the next few years you will see some more of these cool guards either get their turn for the first time or get a resculpt. You'll have to be patient though - we'll only be able to get to a couple new ones a year.

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Q: Seeing as how we're getting obscure, non-canon figures in the Comic Packs such as the Dark Woman and Infinities Vader, what are the chances of getting figures from the early Marvel storyline about the Star-Hoppers from Aduba-3, particularly a figure of Jaxxon? You could even base their appearances off the cover of the Star Wars Gamer magazine from a few years ago that featured them, which showed many of them in a less cartoony way.
A: We look for characters that have interesting or important subplots or are uniquely iconic, so that explains Dark Woman (who appeared in numerous comics and who is tied to the origin of Aurra Sing) and a new take on Vader. We have looked at the Marvel stories again, but just don't see the characters from this storyline making the future cut - they did not have much importance to the Marvel run. It is more likely that other new characters from the Marvel run will be selected before these guys.

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Q: Since the AAT has been rereleased with the mid-sized vehicles, will the similarly-sized TX-130 Saber-class tank - seen in the Star Wars: Clone Wars and Battlefront videogames - ever be made? The vehicle was even used for both Republic and Imperial troops in Battlefront II.
A: We have looked at the TX-130 and it is a cool vehicle, but right now would only go after it if it was featured in the upcoming Clone Wars animation.

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And the questions at ActionFigs.com (http://www.actionfigs.com/index.php?categoryid=12&p2_articleid=1384):

- Now that we've gotten updated versions of Luke Endor, Leia Endor, and the Biker Scout, that is everybody who has ridden a Speeder Bike in ROTJ (minus Paploo if you want to get technical). While asked before, now all the other pieces are in place so it bears revisiting: can we get an updated Speeder Bike vehicle for these guys to ride on? The one used most often is nearly 25 years old and the mold's showing its age with the legs and flaps, plus the giant incorrect handgrips and t-bar. Even more importantly, the Saga Ep 2 Speeder bike is already close enough and hasn't seen a major rerelease - adding clear positionable stands to go with it would be the icing on the cake. So, new Speeder Bike chances?
- While we've gotten Evolutions sets for some pretty major characters, and now we're seeing more Evolutions concepts coming down the pike, how about Evolutions sets developed specifically for the 2 main protagonists of the saga, Obi-Wan and Luke? Obi-Wan Evolutions could have Ep 1, Ep 2, and Ep 4 versions of the character with all the deserved articulation and accessories (which would fill some pretty big voids in the modern line); while Luke Evolutions could involve Luke perhaps in his Snowspeeder pilot outfit, Dagobah with removable jacket and holster belt, and Jedi covering all the accessories and articulation these versions could need.
- Unleashed 7" figures are now found in Transformers; both Attacktix and Galactic Heroes-styling is now found in Marvel, Spider-Man, Indiana Jones, and Transformers; Titanium Series is now found in Transformers, Spider-Man, Marvel and Battlestar Galactica -- all these lines started as Star Wars offshoot lines before branching out into new franchises. How did this happen? Is this intentional, is Star Wars a guinea pig for Hasbro's testing of new ideas?

Mr. JabbaJohnL

08-17-2007, 05:33 PM

Disappointing on Jaxxon but awesome on the Skiff Guards.

Kidhuman

08-18-2007, 12:08 AM

So they basically said yes, SW is a guinea pig line.

bigbarada

08-18-2007, 12:51 AM

A: Yes, over the next few years you will see some more of these cool guards either get their turn for the first time or get a resculpt. You'll have to be patient though - we'll only be able to get to a couple new ones a year.

While, Hasbro's answer could have been better (something along the lines of "those of you wanting more Skiff Guards will be very happy with what we have planned for 08."), it's still great news. And of course, I would love to have them all right now, but I'm willing to wait if it means that they'll be the same level of quality as vintage Bossk and IG-88 (and Umpass Stay, that figure is great!).

There's no smilie available here to express up how I feel about this, but the attached emoticon sums it up pretty well.

JediTricks

08-18-2007, 04:17 AM

Honestly, I can't imagine why anybody really thought that Jaxxon thing was going to turn out any better than it did. I absolutely was against asking it because it was so far out on the fringe.

The skiff guards thing is nice to see that they know it's an issue, though I would have liked a little commitment to at least a new Weequay.

I took the guinea pig thing more as "Star Wars is a trendsetter".

One can never go wrong with the dancing banana.

bigbarada

08-18-2007, 05:31 AM

I wonder if we'll see two Skiff Guards announced for 2008 here soon. Or do you think they would have specified 2008 if there were really some Skiff Guards in the pipeline?

I see the human guards as being the lowest on the priority list, regardless as to whether they should be or not. So, if anything, I think we might see a new Weequay and Vedain (the guard that Lando "took out"). For some reason, since that Nikto has already been made in the Galactic Heroes line, I believe we will see him next.

I would also love to see Kithaba next year, but we got a Barada repaint in 2006 and Umpass Stay in 2007, it's almost too much to hope that we'd get a new Klatooinian three years in a row... but I'd be the last one complaining if we did.:pleased:

A Barada resculpt is also much needed. He doesn't have to be super-articulated, just some decent articulation would be nice. Although, I would love to see him in the next vintage-style assortment (as long as Hasbro doesn't try to replicate the painting-error of the actual vintage figure); but I know that wouldn't go over well with the people who thought Bossk and IG-88 weren't worthy of the vintage treatment.

Queequay, Giran, and the vintage Nikto would all be prime candidates for new figures.

I'd only want to see a retooled Pote Snitkin, with better arm articulation and fixing the side cut cloak that was so painfully overused in the POTF2 days. But there's no need to even revisit this figure unless Hasbro is willing to make a new skiff that he can actually fit behind the controls of.

JediTricks

08-18-2007, 05:31 PM

Yeah, if they can't do a skiff that can hold Pote, don't do Pote. That was a great figure for its day, but so sad that he can't use the skiff vehicle considering that's ALL he does in the film!

LTBasker

08-18-2007, 05:35 PM

I'm pretty disappointed with their reaction to the TX-130. The AT-TE I understood it needing a presence in the Clone Wars show to get them willing to explore it, but the TX-130 seemed like a perfect choice for their $20 line.

It's probably more widely recognizable than the AT-AP.

JediTricks

08-18-2007, 11:36 PM

Well, being in a movie makes a big diff.

bigbarada

08-19-2007, 12:39 AM

What's the TX-130?

JediTricks

08-19-2007, 03:35 PM

It's the Republic/Imperial tank used in the Battlefront video games. http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/TX-130

And honestly, it's way cooler than the 17th repaint of the Jedi Starfighter, even if it hasn't been in movies or tv.

DarthBrandon

08-19-2007, 03:58 PM

It's the Republic/Imperial tank used in the Battlefront video games. http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/TX-130

And honestly, it's way cooler than the 17th repaint of the Jedi Starfighter, even if it hasn't been in movies or tv.

Yeah, true enough, I'm sick of the re-paints as well; I have too many as it is.
The TX-130 Tank is an awesome choice for the $20.00 market, but do you think the smart guys at Hasbro could come up with something like this, no we'll see more re-paints of out dated product till the line dies. I'd much rather have some new vehicles (or newly re-sculpted) instead of sub-par 1977-1980 molds that get re-hashed every couple of years. (I.E. Falcon's, Y-wings, Ties, etc) That would make more sense instead of milking a mold that's already 10 years old & in some cases 30 plus years old. Geeze with all the support behind the line you'd think they would jump at chances for newly designed toys instead of the carp they are re-releasing all the time.

JediTricks

08-19-2007, 04:33 PM

Do I think they COULD? Yes, absolutely I do, it's right up their alley actually, look at the 7-year-old AAT tank, that thing has its flaws but is a good $20 tank vehicle, and they've gotten so much better since then with vehicles. The problem isn't that they couldn't do it, it's that the suits aren't convinced it'll sell enough to turn a profit, the investment is perceived as too risky so it's easier to say no.

You're absolutely right that they blew their best chances by not taking advantage of the proper timing for stuff like this, if it had come out any time between the March '05 and 3 months ago, it would have done well too, but they're still finding their legs with this pricepoint.